Calatrava Ref. 484

An ultra-rare and historically important Patek Philippe dating to 1931, this reference 484 is a watch few will ever encounter again.

Considered a part of the Calatrava family by collectors today, the ref. 484 is probably best described as a “Pre-Calatrava.” Production of this model is believed to have started in at least 1931, the year this example was made, notably a year before Patek Philippe started to produce the reference 96, the first Calatrava. While the ref. 96 is round with simple lugs, the ref. 484 is distinguished by its interesting semi-hooded lugs. The case diameter is elegant at 29mm, 1.5mm smaller than the now uber-popular ref. 96, but common for the time period. This watch was likely produced to be unisex at least, if not for men, as watch tastes skewed much smaller in the 1930s. Today, the look on the wrist is distinctly vintage yet not comically undersized, wearing similar to a traditionally sized Carter Tank.

As with other 1930s Patek Philippe models, the ref. 484 is extremely, extremely rare. To date, two examples are known to the market: this watch, case number 613660, and another, case number 613663 (3 numbers away!), which last sold at Sotheby’s New York in 2012. The watch we have here has auction provenance as well, last selling as part of The Art Of Patek Philippe at Habsburg, Feldman in 1989. A historic auction celebrating the 150th anniversary of the brand, this sale featured only the most important Patek Philippe watches of the time, including many unique watches like the Caliber 89 — the most complicated watch in the world at the time, selling for CHF 5,000,000, becoming the most expensive watch in the world.

The case of this ref. 484 was produced by one of Patek’s favorite suppliers of the time — Wenger. Denoted by the Geneva key number 1 hallmark inside the caseback, Wenger was tapped to produce many of the most important vintage Patek Philippe cases, like the ref. 2499 and the first Reverso wristwatch.